Thank you, Miss Fear

To the ones who asked me W H Y I left my very good and well-paid job in London, to the dozens of emails I receive weekly asking how, and to the many messages and comments seeking advice on how to follow your desire to travel the world.

Yes, in November 2014 Miss Fear paid me a visit and pushed me out of my comfort zone and “easy” life in the UK.

I had always been a golden child, pushed by competition and a hunger for achievement. I had to win. Always. Very often people looking at my life would tell me “You’ve nailed it”. At the age of 26, I had nailed it. Totally. And more so by 28, 29. Achieving and smashing goals was my favourite sport in my twenties. I was so focused on it that I completely forgot to stop and think if I was playing a game I was interested in, or not.

The truth is that at 30 I no longer wanted to play that game I was so good at.

And then fear came to visit me.

Fear to miss out, fear I would never be truly happy despite all my professional success and accomplishments on the corporate ladder, fear I would postpone my own dream to travel to prioritise the common goal of a shining CV and spotless career.
The fear I would never see the world with my own eyes, photograph it or writing about it.
Fear my travel around Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa would stay in the dream drawer forever.
Fear that I might die before I could see all the things I wanted to see, do, experience or be.
The fear I would never touch the Taj Mahal, speak a few words of Hindi and fear I couldn’t ever surf in Australia, fear I would never ride a camel. The fear I couldn’t see a kangaroo or hug a koala or watch the stars in the middle of the desert.
The fear I would never become a digital nomad or discover the secrets of Myanmar.
The fear I would miss my one chance to be happy. This might sound all a bit dramatic, because it is, in fact. When somebody close to you dies, that fear you have dominated, forgotten or avoided for so long, comes out of nowhere and starts eating you alive. This is what happened in 2015 and this is what got me on the road a few months later.

– Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. James Neil Hollingsworth.

Get out
Eat the world
Love unconditionally
Learn a new language
Dance with strangers
Close your map
Get lost
Breath
Inspire and be inspired
Switch your phone off
Laugh
Cry
Explore
Be alive